User-friendly done right

Pascual Toso Reserve Malbec 2009. Now this is a crowd pleasing, easy drinking full and tasty wine that teeters on the edge of being an oaky fruit-bomb, but doesn't go overboard. Me likey. Me want more people to buy this and deliver it to my house which is how this bottle got here since I am on a budget and bought much needed jeans this month and cannot now spend money on wine, pout. So this is a large and friendly wine, with big, ripe, dark, jammy fruit flavours, and plenty of oaky spice. It is not elegant, but it is tasty and would appeal to people who say they like big red wines from Australia or California, but are not snooty about it. This is a good wine for roast red meats, or just drinking by itself. Tasty and pleasant, the YLC price book lists it at $21.20 which is fair up here. I was going to recommend the non-reserve Pascual Toso Malbec which I have also enjoyed in the past, but in the past I think it was under $15 and now it is listed at $17.15. For four bucks more, you can get a nicer wine in the Reserve. Or you can likely get an Australian Cab/Shiraz blend for about $15, oh, Penfolds Rawson's Retreat Shiraz/Cab is just over $14. Better deal if you just want an easy-drinking budget red. I also see that the YLC has English pear cider. Not to be confused with Okanagan or Growers Ciders, the English stuff is better and I became quite fond of it on my last trip there. Not cheap here though, so maybe next month.